It's You I See
by sereace
Summary: After all, love doesn't make the world go round, for only when you fall out of it, can you see the world turning. Third Chapter: He played a very big part in destroying two lives, now three...and Susumu Makino wants to rectify it.
1. He Married the Wrong Couple

Title: It's You I See

Author: sereace

Warnings: Pairings both un & conventional, angst, written just after living thru a migraine that could rival Zeus' when his daughter Athena (is this right?) was ramming from inside his skull, and lastly, written by yours truly. Not beta-ed yet, dang please, please, please, do the, er, not honors.

Notes: For dang who wasn't even able to finish telling me what she wanted me to write for this particular anime. Pardon the poem if it doesn't make sense, I wrote it, afterall. Pam, I know I owe a lot, this is also for you. Take care always. And, btw, _saang lupalop ka ng mundo ngayon? _Also, if the characters are ooc, please bear in mind that this is my fic, therefore I write them as I interpret them. No two painters can paint the exact same way, interpret the exact same way, their subject, after all. Would be until 7 chapters I think, I've already written the first four. Let's all pray I finish this one before June 8. Sorry for the long AN, this is the first and last time it would happen.

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_It's you I see_

_When I close my eyes_

_After I look at another's face_

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The priest looked at them, a genuine smile on his face. He'd never, in his twenty years of being a member of the Holy Order, seen such a colorful wedding. The groom had been punched _four_ times in the entire two-hour ceremony, and while he expected the entire congregation to react rather violently, they just laughed in _amusement_, the bride had been shouted at before and after every punch the groom had received, a sponsor had intended to elope the groom, likewise with the bride. He'd never seen a wedding so lavishly prepared, and yet poorly carried out—if talking strictly about the ceremony. But it was endearing, in a sort of modern-conventional way.

"Can't I kiss my bride yet, Priest?"

The aforementioned priest blinked twice, before he completely brought himself out of his musings. The smile got wider as his eyes twinkled. _'Young people,'_ he thought, _'Are so impatient these days.'_ With a chuckle then, he continued. "You may kiss the bride." He winked at the bride who was blushing five shades of scarlet.

In the front row two young men, as equally good-looking man as the groom, _'F4,'_ he thought, sighed resignedly, goofy grins on their faces, just about dancing manically with apparent joy.

"Finally!" one of them started, _'Mimasaka Akira,'_ his mind supplied, as the other continued, "The ruckus has ended!"

Shifting his attention back to the couple he had just married, the groom had snatched his bride to him, her small form pliant against his. The head topped with curly hair was bent, as hers was raised, lips meeting in a kiss the bride cut rather soon. The priest chuckled again, _'At least, this one has modesty.'_ The groom didn't look pleased. The crowd, for it was the only way to describe guests amounting to almost one thousand, clapped.

The media wasted no time in assembling the guests present. Photographers were telling who to go where and how they should pose. Amid the hubbub a sole person remained as calm as ever, unperturbed by his surroundings. His features were both beautiful and handsome, and he was situated beside the two who made up almost as much noise as the bride and groom. While Mimasaka Akira and Nishikado Soujiro joked around and made as much noise as permitted, this one sat composed, elegance comprising his very stance, his gaze unreadable. _'Unreadable,'_ the Priest thought, _'But fixated.'_ He glanced now to the bride from looking at the young man, under close scrutiny, looked similar to him. _'A love triangle, perhaps?'_

He was snapped out of his reverie, for too many times this day, as a lay minister called to him. "Father, they ask you to join them."

The priest nodded, the smile never leaving his face. He was asked to stand beside the bride, and in direct view of the young man still seated, unaffected as some of the cameras flashed his way. The photographers counted to three, and he thought he had gone blind as five, six cameras went flashing all at the same time. _'This,' _he started to himself,_ 'Is why I joined the Church.'_ When the other batch was called, he made his way down the steps, removing his ceremonial robes, which a young boy acquired. He smiled to him, laying a hand upon the younger one's head. He seated himself on the same pew as the young man he had been observing. The other made no move, no indication of having noticed him at all. So he cleared his throat, then, "Hanazawa Rui. A pleasure to meet the son of the woman whose wedding I officiated."

Upclose now, the priest could _see_ him. '_His eyes are like his mother's. A clear blue.'_ Peering closer, he added, '_But they are cold, like his father's. Like ice burning.'_

"And whose funeral you also presided, I'm certain." Calm, resonating, yet bridges upon bridges distant.

"You were three years old then." He expected this reaction. Hanazawa Amaya, former Kaioh Amaya, was a genius. At three years old she knew and was fluent in three languages—Japanese, English, and Mandarin Chinese. When she died she could speak and write _fifteen_ languages, translate and piece of writing from Japanese to English to Chinese to French to any other while hardly breaking a sweat. And this boy—this young man before him, Hanazawa Rui, could hardly be expected to be otherwise.

"Just one of the downfalls of having genius for parents." Still flat, still monotonous. Was he insulting or complimenting? In the background, the newly married couple was having yet again, a _new_ argument.

A pregnant pause, before the priest gazed at the other fully. Most of his features were of his mother's, but that's hardly any news. The moment he was brought to this world every sort of medium reported how the heir of the Hanazawas and the Kaiohs looked like. But other than what Hanazawa Rui grudgingly gave to the public, none knew the man beneath the indissoluble exterior. '_Except F4.'_ The group of friends of the four of the richest families in Japan, all in the top twenty of the whole world, all of whom have been and are the most eligible bachelors, that all those in their right mind looked up to and feared. Who after all, would go against those who could paralyze the business of an entire country by just a flick of a finger?

"Hanazawa Rui!" The name echoed at the spacious Cathedral, and a threat of something other than a painful whack in the head was between the lines. '_Apparently this woman did.' _"Weren't you listening to the photographer? Get up here this instant!" And this time the congregation did go silent, except for the rather harsh breathing of the small bride who at first glance looked like she couldn't hurt a fly. It was also the first that the bride acted as she does with the groom, only this time, not with the groom. The priest surveyed his Church, eyebrows raised. '_Oh? And this small woman orders_ Hanazawa Rui _around like that? Interesting.'_ He turned again to look at Hanazawa Rui to find him rising to his feet, a small but genuine smile upon his face. Cameras flashed yet again, and to those who had seen, not a few young women fainted, those who are left awake drooled. '_My precious carpeting, that came from Italy! Tsukino-san is not going to be pleased when she cleans this…'_ A needle could have fallen and they all would have gone deaf. '_Ah, what's even more interesting, Hanazawa Rui _follows _the order.'_

"I was trying to catch my sleep, Tsukushi. I slept for only thirteen hours today." Was that a _lilting_ in his voice?

The priest's brows could not possible get any higher, if it did it would have its own life, and make for itself a new record in the Guinness. Now a speck of dust would have echoed thru his church and even the innocent birds would lose their sense of hearing. '_Stoic, composed, cold-as-ice Hanazawa Rui, _returning_ the banter?!'_

A most unlady-like snort as Rui ascended the first steps. "If Akira and Soujiro did not chose to put you between them you wouldn't even have known when to stand up and when to sit down. If you already had thirteen hours of sleep before _my_ wedding ceremony, and if the wedding ceremony_ did_ last for two hours, _your_ fifteen hours of sleep would have been already compensated!" She gasped, breathing deeper, bringing in oxygen to her system. Her groom looked rather red as well, and it was due of far different reasons than what the bride is currently ranting about. Hanazawa Rui was already standing proud and tall beside his friends. "I thought I told you to stay awake." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Hanazawa Rui's form. Her groom's eyes narrowed, looking at the both of them. Rui's eyes _twinkled_. "In fact," Makino Tsukushi, now Doumyouji Tsukushi, continued, unaware of the building tension of the man beside her, namely, her husband, "I know I told you to stay awake. I even told your housekeeper to prepare a gallon of coffee!"

A click of the tongue, before, "Did you now? That answers why water tasted different this morning."

Whatever the certain bride had to say to that was cut off as the photographers yelled, "Say cheese!", following the order of _The Two_, who are made of Nishikado and Mimasaka. The priest laughed quietly. The bride looked like she was ready to plummet someone until kingdom come, the groom looked like he could kill, and Hanazawa Rui, one of the best men, looked…striking, as usual. But there was a small smile upon his face, and that was enough to have another round of fainting and drooling spells. One photographer asked if "The good sir Hanazawa Rui-sama could move to the side of the bride,"; Doumyouji Tsukasa looked like a gaping fish. Makino Tsukushi—he couldn't bring himself to say Doumyouji yet—was _blushing?!_ Hanazawa Rui silently complied, and there's nothing new with that. The Two, ah the two, _'Exactly how many deaths have they prevented acting the way they do?'_, looked about to jump any moment, after they kill _that_ photographer. The particular photographer, sly that he was, was focusing his digital camera to only three people—the groom, the bride, and the best man. It seemed that everyone present did just focus on the three, and at that moment, Father Andrew, former Kaioh Asato, brother of deceased Hanazawa Amaya, wondered if he had married the wrong couple.


	2. Theirs and Ours

Title: It's You I See

Warnings: Angst. _Really_ angst. And torture…I'm a sadist, you know.

Notes: Thanks to all those who reviewed. For the speedy update, praise aisery (o dang!).

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Act II: Theirs And Ours

_It's you I see _

_When the door closes_

_Deserting me in a darkened room_

Doumyouji Tsubaki—she could never drop that name—drove thru the drive way of the Hanazawa estate, her anger at her brother still evident. Her eyes were still shining with obvious suppressed fury, and hands that had been gripping the stirring wheel so tight for the duration she had turned her knuckles white.

"After one year you'd think he'd learned something," she muttered, not bothering to cover her frustration, as she stepped out of the convertible and handed the keys to the butler. "They've been married for a year, and they've yet to finish a quarrel the way married couples _should_!" She hissed under her breath, causing the butler to move at least five steps behind her. The last time he was at arm's length of this Doumyouji he nearly lost his arm—literally—and he was just opening the darned door! He's just had his first granddaughter, and he has no intention at all to go home compensated but incapacitated. Besides, his wife rather loved his hands.

So lost in thought he was that he jumped an inch or so in the air when the Tsubaki spoke. "Where is she?"

It took him a full moment to compose himself, before he bowed and answered. "With the Master. Please follow me to the study, Tsubaki-sama. I will inform them of your presence."

Tsubaki looked like she wanted to say something, but decided against it. The Hanazawa household _loves_ Tsukushi, and even if she were to remain loyal to her brother, she knew when a battle is lost before it began.

"Tsubaki-sama?"

She started, almost snapping her neck as she met the perceptive gaze of Rui's butler. She just noticed she stopped walking, but gave a small, tentative smile. "Let's proceed to the study, shall we?"

The butler nodded. "As you say, Tsubaki-sama."

The walk towards the study consisted of many turns—through the vestibules, corridors, stairs, repeat pattern—but quiet. The last time she went here was not five years ago, and the household, though reserved in greeting as their masters, were warm, and cheerful. _'This time,'_ she noted, as she looked at the passing back of a servant, _'I'd say they're as good as avoiding me.'_

"We're here, Tsubaki-sama."

She nearly bumped into him, _nearly,_ and saved her grace not a moment sooner as he faced her while opening the door. She nodded briefly, some hair coming loose from the French braid her hair designer did to her hair. _'I've been nodding more times today than in the last month of my life,'_ she thought, amused that entering into the home of the best friend of her brother would make her so…agreeable. She entered the room, and sat at one of the plush cushions.

"The housekeeper shall arrive soon, Tsubaki-sama. Please feel free to ask what you require." He was almost out of the door when the words poured out of her mouth.

"Was she crying?" The butler's steps faltered. She continued, encouraged. "When she came in, was she crying?"

"Hanazawa-sama shall be here as soon as possible, Tsubaki-sama." Was the answer, and to Tsubaki, it was another way of saying _this-is-_our_-home-and-you-are-not-our-master._ The butler left with a resounding click of the door.

Tsubaki sighed, as she leaned back at the couch. _'I wonder when Tsukasa can aspire loyalty out of respect and profound love from our household,'_ The door opened again, and the housekeeper, a plump woman whom Tsubaki had known to be the housekeeper for as long as she'd lived entered. Tsubaki smiled, she's always liked this woman's smile. The housekeeper smiled back.

"Tea will be arriving shortly, Tsubaki-sama. We've prepared fruit salad as well. Is there anything else you might want?" She was still smiling.

Tsubaki shook her head no. The housekeeper bowed and left. Tsubaki, left alone in the room again, covered her eyes with her hand. _'Like Rui does.'_ She finished her earlier thought with a heavy heart.

==========

"Was she crying? When she came in, was she crying?"

The question kept repeating in his mind, loud and clear. _'She wasn't crying, Tsubaki-sama. She wasn't crying because she has no more tears to cry.'_ He turned at the corner, heading for the stairs. _'She wasn't crying, but she was broken.'_ First steps up the stairs, left foot forward, the right, then left…_'She should be with Rui-sama,'_ he thought with vindication, his insides churning. _'Rui-sama could protect her, he wouldn't stand idle if he sees her getting hurt. Rui-sama would make her grow, instead of what your brother is doing, Tsubaki-sama.'_ He's reached the top of the stairs now, and started walking towards the final wing before the Master's bedroom. _'Can't you see, she's breaking. Slowly but surely, she's breaking, and when there's nothing left for her to break she'll fade. And when she does…'_

"I wish Tsukushi-sama had chosen Rui-sama."

He froze midstep, and spun his head to where the sound came from.

"They certainly make the better pair than Tsukushi-sama and Tsukasa-sama!"

He couldn't help but note the heartfelt agreement. He smiled.

"Besides," the voice he first heard spoke again, in a conspirator tone, "Rui-sama is tons more handsome than Tsukasa-sama!"

And then there were giggles. He couldn't help but chuckle at this himself. _'Why, of course. Rui-sama is more handsome, isn't he?'_

"Amaru-san!"

He turned at the sound of his name so harshly spoken, and saw two of the youngest servant girls turn almost as white as the sheets they were holding. He smiled. "Don't mind me, I'm just passing by…don't let our housekeeper see you as such, she won't be as lenient." Then with a wave he walked on, only stop on his tracks as he heard someone clear a throat.

"Won't be as lenient, Amaru-san?"

He turned, the cheery smile was replaced with a nervous one. "Makoto-san, has Tsubaki-sama been attended?"

A curt nod, then, "They're right, don't you think?"

The smile dropped now, the diving of his intestines that was relieved by listening to the acute but flimsy observation of the maids he had caught came back full force. "Yes, but they hardly know the real story behind this…" he trailed off, not finding the right word that would describe the situations of their masters.

"Arrangement? Rui-sama's sudden disappearances, but equally sudden appearances with Tsukushi-sama is hardly a surprise, Amaru-san. He's been doing this for the past five years." A pause then, "I don't see you disapproving of Tsukushi-sama."

"I don't disapprove of Tsukushi-sama."

She raised her brows, but smiled. "I know, Amaru-san. I like her, too. In fact, I—"

"We love her." Amaru chose to finish, inclining his head for Makoto to follow him. "There's just one flaw: She's not the Master's wife. She the wife of the Master's best friend."

"If friend he can be called, after what he did." Sarcasm dripped her every word, Amaru couldn't help but be amused.

"You hate Doumyouji Tsukasa?"

"No, but I have what he did to Rui-sama." She replied, voice flat and indignant. Amaru wanted to be able to say something, but Makoto already beat him to it. "These Doumyoujis should be taught a lesson; not everything has a price. There are some things that cannot be bought—it has to be earned." She turned to face him, the woman who had taken him in, taking him as the son she never had. "Don't you agree, Amaru?"

Amaru nodded, and Makoto smiled before she turned and walked back towards the kitchens. Amaru headed to his original directions, many minutes delayed. Much as the entire Hanazawa household wanted to help their Master, what can they do? Marry Tsukushi-sama and Rui-sama without their knowledge? And before that divorce Tsukushi-sama from Tsukasa-sama? Then what? Make the two live in their own world, free of anything to damage or taint the both of them? _'But that's hardly a world, and they both won't stand for it. Tsukushi-sama loves life too much, as much as Rui-sama loves her.'_ He gave a resigned sigh, as he stopped in front the massive doors made of the finest lumber money can afford. _'And Rui-sama wants Tsukushi-sama's happiness too much, even if that happiness is not him.'_ He wanted to weep, to cry, for his master that he watched grow, never asking for anything. _'And the one thing he ever wanted, he can't have. Not because she doesn't want him, but because someone he cares for wants her.' _Closing his eyes as he composed himself, he took a deep breath. When he opened them, he was again Amaru, butler of Hanazawa Rui.

He raised his fist, knocked, then spoke. "Tsubaki-sama is on the first floor study, Rui-sama. She is waiting for you."


	3. Oh Brother, My Brother

Title:     It's You I See

Warnings: Angst. _Really_ angst. And torture…I'm a sadist, you know.

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It's You I See 

_When the Sun goes West_

_Casting the black curtain of the Night_

Makino Susumu wanted to slit his wrist after the friendly plunge of a handy katana that by a stroke of genius would just land right where his heart is located. _'Better yet,'_ Susumu started to wonder, his eyes narrowing, _'I'll kill _him_ first, then commit seppuku. Now _that_ sounds better. Then nee-san can finally be free of the jail society has placed her in.' _A ghost of a smile played upon his lips as his mind conjured images of the woman he remembered his sister to be—happy, carefree, and simply_ Makino Tsukushi_. _'Nee-san will be free…'_ The beginnings of a wider smile dropped as the word etched itself into his consciousness. '_Free. Free of everything else and be herself. Free of prison I was one of those who put her in,'_ he thought sadly, his anger dissipating, replaced by heart-numbing anguish. _'I should have been thinking of what was right for her, not of what would be nice for everybody else!' _He closed his eyes, and rested his head on the wheel. _'Everyone was expecting them to be together! For all intents and purposes, they _should_ end up together, like in the fairy tales, where the prince and the princess lived happily ever after all the troubles they've gone thru!'_

Blaring horns caused him to look up and saw that their lane already had the green signal. He stepped on the gas and, and heard a distinct 'Thank goodness he moved already!' somewhere in the public transportation that was behind him. He stepped on the gas, pushing to the borders of the speed limit. _'As if they'd arrest me. The brother of the wife of the topmost powerful man in Taiwan—wouldn't that make a laughingstock of the police?'_ His hold on the steering wheel tightened—the car was a gift of the object of his current hatred. The anger that was dampened surged once more. _'She loved you. Kaasan and Tousan worshipped you. I_ idolized _you! And what we got in return was…what nee-san got in return…' _He trailed off, his vision blurring. The sound of wheels screeching caused him to step on the brakes as well. He was about to curse the driver of the car in front of him, when he saw the stoplight had turned red. He closed his eyes and swiped a hand through his face. _'Oh God. Nee-san doesn't need another problem. Nee-san..' _His eyes rested on the small photograph—a snapshot, actually—of he and his sister, six, seven years ago. Another figure, one in the background whose features were barely visible, but one wouldn't need such a trivial matter to know who it was. Anyone living on earth would know him by his shadow. He silently addressed to the man. _'You loved her then—I know you did. Why do you do this to her now?'_

He looked up just in time to see the stoplight turn green, so he switched gears as he stepped on the gas. Maneuvering to a left turn, the line of men that could be mistaken as statues were stationed, became visible. _Very_ visible, in fact, the moment he entered the general vicinity. It was hardly astonishing, at least for those who have been visiting this place for at least half a decade at least once a month, for the entire block, as well as the following two, were the Hanazawa residence. It wasn't even their _estate_ yet. _That_ would be the entire five surrounding blocks, that were called blocks for convenient purposes—servants were often ordered to 'Go to Block C to get this, or go to Block A to fetch so and so'. Makino Susumu entered without any fuss, where any other soul wouldn't even have been able to raise a placating hand. The massive gates opened, the driveway that was almost as long as the Doumyouji's were lined with sculptures from a period or periods he didn't know, and trees whose origin were from around the world provided the screen for the magnificent house that rested on the middle. He stopped the car when he reached the house—or castle from the feudal ages—and killed the engine. He opened his door, and stepped out of the car. He expected the butler to greet him, but was taken aback. The master of the house, the very person he was visiting, was standing at the doorway, waiting for him.

"Hello, Susumu."

Makino Susumu, almost three years ago, was the one who talked to this man to set free of his sister, and let her marry Doumyouji Tsukasa. Now, he is one of those who want to turn back time, and undo what they had done.

Hanazawa Rui _should_ have been selfish.

Hanazawa Rui _not_ have listened to them.

Hanazawa Rui _should not_ have let Makino Tsukushi go.

Hanazawa Rui _loved—loves—_Makino Tsukushi.

Susumu bowed his head, wanting to hide at the deepest hole on earth. "Ohayou, Hanazawa-sama."

The former nodded as he stepped aside. Susumu had enough encounters with this man to know that it was an invitation to go inside. He followed the silent man with trepidation, his heartbeat accelerating with each step he took. The corridors where they were treading were familiar. This was also where he, along with Mimasaka Akira and Nishikado Soujiro, initiated _The Talk_. This time, the reason wasn't different; it was still about Tsukushi, but the pleas? The last time, he asked Hanazawa Rui to leave Tsukushi. At the present…

They were at the study. The door was opened, and Susumu followed Hanazawa Rui. The door closed shortly after, and when Hanazawa Rui seated himself behind the table, the younger man met his gaze. Cold, calculating, stoic and observant—the blue eyes were more freezing than ice—and Susumu thought to himself how different the most feared man in this business, and not because of what he has but because of who he _is_, looked whenever his beloved sister was present. And so he cleared his throat, and ploughed in. "My sister needs your help."

Blue eyes narrowed, and Susumu saw the man before him tense.

"What happened to Tsukushi?"

Susumu swallowed. "She's pregnant."

If it were any other person than Hanazawa Rui, an eyebrow would have risen. "Tsukushi wants to be pregnant."

Susumu's knees threatened to go out. "Nee-san and Tsu—Doumyouji had a disagreement," he started, his voice nearly inaudible, and he noticed the other holding the arm rest of the leather-bound chair. The slip of the name hadn't gone unnoticed, but there was no obvious reaction. "Nee-san walked out of Tsu—_Doumyouji,­_" he re-stated, and this time a glimmer of a question made its way to the surface of Hanazawa Rui's mask, "But he caught her…she was at the top of the stairs…" The vision played itself in his mind, taking away his strength to speak. This was the scene where he had seen for himself, the way his sister's wife, the man that had given their family every possible dream they have, and their payment was every drop of blood of his sister's. He was shaking, he felt his knees starting to give out. Hanazawa Rui started to rise.

"He hit her." Susumu's words bit through the air-conditioned room, fog forming out of his mouth as he spoke. He didn't notice Hanazawa Rui rise to his full height, which was at most a good one ruler taller from his form. He didn't even know that he was crying, didn't even consider that it was tears that blurred his vision. "He hit my sister and she fell and there was so much blood…so much blood…" he was swaying now, but he took made out whose strong arms supported him, breaking his fall. He didn't stop talking, he _couldn't_ stop talking. "The bastard hit her! I've never seen so much blood, Hanazawa Rui! _Never!_ It was so much…too much—"

"Where is she?" The voice that permeated through his ears and made its way to his brain was still cold, but Susumu rather thought that if fire could be cold, it would burn the way Hanazawa Rui's voice could. Cold ice burns, after all, and Hanazawa Rui is everything of that. He would rarely burn, but when he does…heaven help the one on the other side of his wrath.

The firm shaking of his shoulders and blue eyes brought him back from the void he felt himself falling into. The question came back to him, and he answered almost out of impulse. "He doesn't want to bring her to the hospital—she's in a separate room—" he slid down his knees as he clasped the shoulders of the man that never let his sister down. "Please help her. I'll serve you for the rest of my life—I'll _give_ you the rest of my life, just save her." He was crying again, and he knew it this time, but he didn't bother to hide it. This was the man everyone wronged—he most of all. "I'm sorry for making you let her go—" He was aware he was babbling, he knew, but he meant every world he said. He made a mistake, and he wanted to rectify it, now more than ever. He played a very big part in destroying two lives, now three, and his life could hardly amount to any of it.

But he was stopped as he was brought to his feet, and a lilting voice spoke, similar to the sun peeking out of the clouds after a devastating storm.

"I'll go to her. I'll bring her to a hospital, the best there is." _'And one probably untouched, and out of reach of Doumyouji,' _Susumu thought, his heart lifting. The doors bursting open and a flock of men wearing black suits entered, and the young man almost died of a coronary. He was handed over to them.

"Wait for my call in the room prepared for you." Then Hanazawa Rui was gone, and Susumu followed until the opened doorway of the study. Another flock of body guards, _'Or his own personal army,'_ he said to himself, followed the brown-haired man. He deigned to notice it was considerably larger than any other time he had seen Hanazawa Rui surround himself with—or command, at public eye, at least.

"Thank you," he wanted to shout, as the last of the dark-suited man turned at the corner, but Hanazawa Rui was long gone from his vision. He closed his eyes as he was led out of the room, following the housekeeper. Arms supported him at either side, and men three times his size flanked him. "I'm so sorry…so sorry…" And then he closed his eyes and gave in to oblivion.

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To all those who reviewed, thanks a lot. To pam, lubs u! To dang, I really hope this would appease you for the meantime, or at least until I get out of my lazy $$ and type the next chapters. Surprisingly, the first few weeks just sucks, and isn't hell yet. I'll inform you guys just when I start the first few flames that lick my sorry b, alright?


	4. Her Happiness

Disclaimers: Don't and Can't Own Hana Yori Dango and its characters.  
Notes: Ha, after a year! Yeah, but hey...for those who actually kept faith that I would still upload. Thanks.

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_It's you I see_

_When my heart beats fast_

_Scattering my thoughts about my head_

It was one of the worst miscarriages he'd ever seen. '_One of the worst, and messiest,'_ Takani-sensei added to himself as he studied the chart of the young woman before him. _'If I didn't know any better,_' he continued, eyeing the body guards stationed at the doorway, and one by the window, _'I'd think this was deliberate.'_

There'd been so much blood it was a miracle she had still been alive when they'd arrived. He'd even thought that the man who carried her to the emergency room himself had been bleeding. The white—he'd only known it was white because of the collar— blazer was soaked in blood, as well as the cream- colored polo. The woman whom he'd learned to be Doumyoji Tsukushi was as white as the dead, and she was going cold. She'd gone past delirium. She was calling the man who brought her here, with his private army in tow, and who he knew to be _not_ her husband, her angel. Hanazawa Riu, business- tycoon, the one who elevated his family's status to be only 20 stocks-wise second to the Doumyojis', from its 50 difference, dubbed by his associates as burning ice, a known stoic, calm, _cold_ bachelor voted most eligible in God's given earth, _an angel._ _A savior_. Hanazawa Rui, member of the F4, but friend of Doumyoji Tsubasa, husband of the woman before him.

_'Who is also conveniently out of the country._' He gathered from Hanazawa Rui- sama, Doumyoji Tsubasa left a scant three hours ago for a pre-arranged business arrangement.

What husband would leave his wife like this for a business arrangement? It's not like they need more partners, the Doumyojis own practically half of Japan, the doctor kept on musing, as he handed the chart to one of the nurses that accompanied him. _'Rich people,_' he continued, starting to check on Doumyoji Tsubasa's vital signs, _'are definitely different._' He was examining the arm that had to be placed on a cast when he saw the bodyguard tense and bow.

"How is she sensei?"

Not a few gasps could be heard coming from the nurses, after all, this is Hanazawa Rui. Even from his voice he sounds handsome. Apparently, the nurses agreed on the statement one reporter wrote in a publicized magazine bearing _this_ Hanazawa's face on the front. Takani sensei remembered it was sold out in one hour.

"She's recovering."

He felt and saw as the other man stood next to him. He kept his interest to himself as Hanazawa sama's hand found Doumyoji Tsukushi's. "But?"

Takani sensei turned and faced the other man, he feel four or five inches smaller than the business tycoon, who at one point dawdled on medicine. He knew a genius when he saw one, and while IQ tests proclaim him to be above average, Hanazawa Rui fell on the genius category. In a marginal scale from just the passing grade.

"Hanazawa-sama," he started, but was cut of when Hanazawa Rui spoke

"Muraki, unless you want me to start calling you 'Doctor', drop it."

He let out a small laugh this time, and what awkwardness he felt was unloaded with the small action. Hanazawa Rui, let a small smile escape him as well. Had he decided to seriously pursue a medical career, he would have been Takani Muraki's closest competition. The smile was the most Hanazawa Rui could manage under the circumstances. For Takani-sensei, it was more than any amount of money he knew Hanazawa Rui could give. After all they're not cousins for nothing.

"Muraki? I won't close your hospital, take my word, no matter how… or what her situation is." The calmly spoken statement that was laced with the lightest of pleading made its way to Muraki's ear, and his brain caught on it fairly fast. He'd never heard Rui speak that way—seen his only cousin speak this way once and that was when Hanazawa Mamoru was lying on his deathbed, three years ago.

He cleared his throat, not sure if he wants to be the bearer of this particular news. "I'd really not mind if you close the hospital, just don't kill me..." he started, a lame attempt at a joke, aiming to elicit another of those rare smiles. There was none but a nod of the head. "She had a miscarriage."

Another nod, "That's obvious enough."

"Leave us." Muraki said, looking at the nurses. He waited until the door closed behind them with a resounding _click_. "Rui..." Muraki sighed, turning to face his cousin. _'There's really no other way of saying this.'_ "This is her first miscarriage."

"I know. This is the first time she'd been pregnant."

Another long silence. Muraki was trying hard to gather his courage. "It would be her last."

Blue met blue—it ran in the blood of Rui's mother that they have blue eyes, but while Muraki had the sea as the mirror of his eyes, Rui had ice.

"Is medicine so advanced, dear cousin, that you have prevented her to have a miscarriage by any way?"

The doctor swallowed a rather big lump in his throat. "No."

He didn't even know that Rui was holding on to the steel bars that prevented Tsukushi from falling if ever she rolled on to her side until the loud _clang_ of steel disjointing from steel forcefully echoed through the room. His gaze lowered. Rui was holding on to the piece of the bed. He cleared his throat. "Of course you can always consult with another gynecologist."

"I'm sure I don't need another gynecologist, Muraki. You had three gynecologists in your team when you operated on her." Rui's voice was cold now, so cold he felt the temperature in the room dropped negative zero. He'd never faced this Rui before—never. And he didn't know what to do with him this time.

"She wanted to have a child, Muraki. She _wants_ to have a child." If Rui hadn't said his name, Muraki would've thought he was talking to himself. In reply all he could do was nod.

"She thought having a child would mean having something entirely hers. Someone she could love unconditionally just because the child came from her, and one who would love her in return. She had been so excited, so excited to tell him..." Rui stopped his seeming monologue as he brushed a wayward strand of hair on Tsukushi's face, then he turned to Muraki. "How old was her baby?" His voice changed now and gone was the coldness of it, but the steel edge remained.

"Five and a half months, six at most."

"What was the gender of the child?"

Muraki had to burrow through his thoughts before he could find the answer—the mood swings of his cousin is becoming worse. "A boy. She would have had a baby boy."

Rui closed his eyes and Muraki saw his jaw clench. "She wanted to have a boy first, then a girl. She said having a boy, as the first-born would mean he'd protect his sister if she'd conceived again."

Muraki nodded not at all some where all these were headed, but knew his cousin well enough that all the questions were meant for nothing all he could do was prepare himself for whatever the ingenious brain of his cousin could conjure.

"She has to have the child."

The statement so casually yet forcefully spoken jolted the doctor back to the present "What?" He asked, feeling rather numb. "How do you expect to give her the child?"

He could have sworn Rui's eyes glinted or maybe it was just the light. "This child, I would give him the proper ceremony, the honor it needs, and I will not forget him. You, as well." Dead silence, then, "Tsukushi however will."

Muraki blinked. The proverbial floor was again swung beneath his very feet. "How do you expect for this to happen Rui—in case you've forgotten, she was almost 6 months pregnant. It's kind of rather hard to miss."

"Tell her she was carrying twins. Tell her she lost one child, but the other is in critical condition, and needs to be attended to. Tell her she cannot exert herself, that she cannot visit her child. Then when the time is right, she'll meet her child and take the child home and her dreams will be fulfilled. So she won't mourn as much, so she won't lose a substantial part of herself."

Muraki's eyes widened as he listened to Rui's words. He knew his cousin used more percent of his brain than the entire population of the hospital, but this, _this_... just _how_ far is he willing to go for the happiness of this woman?

"Rui, are you planning to adopt a child? A _newborn_ child and present this to the Doumyojis as their own? Have you forgotten that everyone else in this world uses at best 15 of their brains capacity and you as one in the 8 billion residents of earth uses 50 of it?

Rui's eyes glinted again, Muraki was sure of it now, "Is adoption such an abhorrable thing that you mention it like that?"

"No!" He defended, "Adoption is a noble act and I'd fancy it would work on anyone else but the Doumyojis. Rui," he said, placing a hand upon the other's shoulder, "_You_ are a Hanazawa but you're just one, alone, solitary, in this field. The Doumyojis have three—the father, the mother, and the son, who, in case you've forgotten, is you're best friend."

"I have you, Muraki. We're enough against them."

Muraki's jaw worked as he stared at Rui like he'd grown another head. "Rui as flattered as I am about this faith in me and everything..."

"Besides, I never said was planning on adopting a child"

Muraki blinked this temples were beginning to pound. He'd never had so much in his brain ticking at the same time since the board examination. "And what, pray feel were you thinking?"

"In vitro fertilization. Or artificial insemination Whichever would work."

Now Muraki's jaw dropped as he lead himself to use one of the cushions and sat himself. "I haven't told you why she can't have children at all haven't I?" He didn't wait for the reply, so he continued. "The bleeding was so severe we had to remove her ovary to save her, otherwise instead of planning how to give her a child would be the least of your problems and the least of my concerns. You'd be scheming for the accidental death of the entire Doumyoji clan to the last degree." He paused for health as he studied the profile of his cousin who, for all intents and purposes, still looked calm. "As you know, both IVF and artificial insemination solve only the problem of the sperm not reaching the egg, therefore not allowing fertilization to occur. Not every problem of being unable to conceive is such." A deep breath as he absently waved a hand at the direction of the bed. "As the case of Tsukushi, he said in a rush, sensing when Rui open his mouth to speak, "You know of the research now being done in Switzerland, since you finance it, allowing a zygote to actually develop into a fetus and eventually into full grown baby, without having to be in the mother's womb." At Rui's nod, he continued. "You are also aware that we have been successful of 4,experiments, out of 4 that we have conducted." He continued to watch the other man's reaction Rui just nodded. Muraki nodded to himself, satisfied.

"But of course, Rui, before any of these can take place the

presence of a _father_ is required." Muraki said softly a smile forming at the corner of his lips. Even though the latest experiments proved to be 100 successful, the subjects were not in even the most remote of the ways _human_. Unless you count a guinea pig, a rodent, a canine, and a feline, human. Using this for the first time, on the woman loved by his cousin and is wife to one of the most powerful men in Asia, if not the whole world, would be like walking into his own death—both professional and personal. _'When it fails._' If a success, at most, his cousin would not kill him—but Doumyoji Tsubasa, even when alone is a force to reckon with.

"I said I would give Tsukushi a child, did I not?" The still calmly spoken statement broke through Muraki's rather morbid thoughts of his death. The other blinked once he met the eyes of his cousin. Like ice, clear, cold, and precise. Muraki's own eyes widened as realization dawned, and Hanazawa Rui continued. "Then I will give her a child."

"My God, Rui." Takani Muraki started as his knees threatened to give up on him, "Why didn't you marry her?"

At that Rui gave a slight shrug as regret show through his eyes. "I thought I was making her happy."


End file.
